I would say any point is a good jumping on point.We all know the origin of Batman so theres no mystery there.You can go back lots of years and buy back issues for cheap. Of course tere are recommended reading like Batman:Year One, Death In The Family, Knightfall, RIP plus others that other readers can recommend.

Hi everyone!! just wanting to know can anyone suggest to me a good jump on point for the batman 1940 comics? the earliest and not too priciest issue that still have plenty of go! :P

And is this the nest batman series of comics or is there another series thats better? thanks!

There are lots of different runs of Batman that have a variety of different appeals to different readers. Virtually everything about making such choices is subjective, though; for example, "not too priciest" really depends on factors like a collector's income.

With that caveat aside, here is my (subjective) take on a broad subject: I'll ignore the initial Kane/Finger/Robinson issues (and even the earliest Gardner Fox issues) based on your "not too priciest" qualifier; those early issues are bank-busters for all but Hollywood and pro sports stars. The first notable rise in quality occurred when stories drawn by Dick Sprang were first published (Batman #18, Aug.-Sept. 1943, according to comics.org). Sprang was the best, but by no means the only, Batman artist of the period; you may want to check credits on the Web before buying. Sprang's career as artist at DC (primarily on Batman) lasted until about 1963. Unfortunately, the scripts he was given declined in quality (IMHO) from about 1955 till 1963; some fans (including me) tend to blame this on editor Jack Schiff.

The second notable rise in quality on Batman occurred when new editor Julius Schwartz brought in the "New Look" Batman, beginning in Batman 164 (June 1964). Schwartz brought in new writers (e.g., Gardner Fox, returning to the character after a long hiatus) and artists (e.g., Carmine Infantino), who were well received by fans. This bright patch lasted about two years, until the series took a turn to a "camp" aesthetic influenced by the (IMHO) wretched Batman television series.

Once the television series was rightly canceled, a mood of drama was restored in the Batman comics. This sense of drama was soon elevated to the third and fourth notable rises in quality, when first, artist Neal Adams (who first drew Batman in related titles, and on covers, finally doing a story in the Batman title in #219, Feb. 1970), and then, writer Denny O'Neil (who first wrote Batman in Detective Comics, finally doing a story in the Batman title in #224, Aug. 1970) started drawing and writing the stories. O'Neil and Adams finally started working together (first in Detective Comics, then in the Batman title in #232, June 1971), and the stories they did together in 1971 and 1972 were pure gold. In my opinion, this is the high-water mark of the Batman title.

Adams seems to have become disenchanted with aspects of working for DC (he later became quite outspoken about work-for-hire), and his output diminished. O'Neil became alcoholic (it's no secret; O'Neil has written openly about this), and the quality of his stories became inconsistent. Batman carried on through the mid- to late-1970s at an unremarkable level.

Schwartz's editorship came to an end in the late '70s or early '80s. He was followed by Paul Levitz, then Dick Giordano, then Len Wein. Each continued in the dramatic vein established following the television series; none (IMHO) did anything remarkable with the series.

The fifth notable rise in quality occurred soon after Denny O'Neil, now clean and sober, became editor with Batman #401 (Nov. 1986). The first few issues were pretty standard heroic drama, but the quality surged with #404 (February 1987), and the beginning of "Batman: Year One" by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. Even after the conclusion of this four-part series, O'Neil and his writers and artists seemed inspired by the fresh energy injected by Year One. O'Neil remained editor until the turn of the millennium, and kept the title at a consistently high level not often seen in comics. It was O'Neil who was editor for the metastory events "Knightfall," "Contagion," and "Cataclysm." O'Neil ended his run on a rather high note, soon after wrapping up "No Man's Land."

It's kind of a shame that you limited your inquiry to Batman (1940). There was a lot of great work in that "other" Batman title (Detective Comics), including more O'Neil/Adams work, a fine (if all too brief) run by editor-writer Archie Goodwin (#437-443), a comeback by writer O'Neil (without Adams; notable issues were #457 and #s 483-487, 490, 491) and an exquisite series of stories written by Steve Englehart, raised even higher in stature once he was joined by artist Marshall Rogers (#469-476). And of course, there was that 1986 mini-series "Batman The Dark Knight" by Frank Miller, that managed to catch some attention at the time.

Want to echo the sentiment that limiting your search to Batman proper ignores some of the all time best stories heralded in Detective Comics, which I think had a better run and pound for pound better stories.

You asked for a proper starting point. I recommend treading the path I followed. Start in the 80s as I did with the Black Mask storyline, and take it up to the Breaking of the Batman with Bane. Most if these stories were headed by Moench and Colan and are excellent.

You need to eventually backpedal to the Rogers/Englehart run already cited, these are classics that for some reason have gone almost forgotten.

"We make a pretty good team, even if we don't work together." - My son

I would bet that no one who has read the Englehart/Rogers series has forgotten it, or even "almost forgotten." If anything, I think it would be a matter of youngsters born after the series was published, and who never bothered to go back for the good stuff.

Then too, those youngsters might be unable to look past the conventions of that earlier day (omniscient narration, thought balloons). But if they did, they would certainly be able to read a denser story (i.e., more story in fewer pages) than they can find in most comics published today.

One thing not mentioned is that in a lot of the story arcs,the story is split between both Batman and Detective Comics.This happened alot in the 80's.So if you want the full story you had to buy both titles.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the whole notion of a jumping-on point is a relatively recent development.

For about the first 50 years in the 71-year run of Batman (1940), efforts were made by the editors, writers, and artists to make EACH issue a jumping-on point. Even during continued storylines, efforts were made to incorporate into each issue all the information a reader would need to understand the story (or stories) in that issue. Very different from how most comics series are handled today.

Notwithstanding my previous recommendations, I think I would tell the OP that up until about Knightfall, he wouldn't need to worry about a jumping-on point. Pick up any issue and read it. The issue may be great, or it may be awful, but odds are it will be comprehensible. Also, there is no particular need to worry about reading issues in order. The OP should be able to read issues (again, up till about Knightfall) in any order, and not get too lost.

some great suggestions guys, i feel that i want to buy the graphic novels of the earliest runs of batman and detective comics... but there's one thing that i have noticed.... they don't seem to cover allot of issues.

Okay they cover maybe 200 issues but i would wanted to of red right up issue 500 maybe.. maybe i'm being stupid about this. I prefer single comics, but i just can not afford every single issue right to the 700's. I will buy from issues 500 maybe to the latest but thats really my max. I want to sit down and really cover the vast majority of the earliest comics of both titles.I am a student after all and i have bills to pay, No matter how many comics i want to buy...

If any of you guys could recommend collected editions that run for allot of the batman comics and detective comics, i greatly appreciate it. I just aint fond of the likes of buying a collected edition that covers 4 issues and then jumps to issue 235 or something like that. I like read chronologically.

some great suggestions guys, i feel that i want to buy the graphic novels of the earliest runs of batman and detective comics... but there's one thing that i have noticed.... they don't seem to cover allot of issues.

Okay they cover maybe 200 issues but i would wanted to of red right up issue 500 maybe.. maybe i'm being stupid about this. I prefer single comics, but i just can not afford every single issue right to the 700's. I will buy from issues 500 maybe to the latest but thats really my max. I want to sit down and really cover the vast majority of the earliest comics of both titles.I am a student after all and i have bills to pay, No matter how many comics i want to buy...

If any of you guys could recommend collected editions that run for allot of the batman comics and detective comics, i greatly appreciate it. I just aint fond of the likes of buying a collected edition that covers 4 issues and then jumps to issue 235 or something like that. I like read chronologically.

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